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HOW
IT ALL STARTED
When did you build the 1st fin, what kind of fin was it?
In 2000. It was a carbon composite FW racing fin, which is made
of carbon, epoxy, resin and some special additives
Was
it difficult to establish a windsurfing fin company out of NZ?
No, not at all. It was actually very easy to start working
as a sole trader. Living of it in the beginning was way harder.
MANUFACTURING
FINS / C3
What materials do you use in your fins and what is the benefit?
Only the best materials available. Carbon fibre only with good
quality epoxy resin and some specific fillers (I cannot tell
you the details of course). In total there are about 8 different
top quality materials included which have a positive impact
on performance, weight and strength.
What
puts your fins currently ahead of the rest?
The C3 design differs completely from the main competitors.
C3 fins are overall more efficient and need to be sailed slightly
differently. They work more off the speed of the fin through
lower drag, rather than the maximum lift you could squeeze out
of it.
What's
the most difficult aspect of making a fin?
To keep your focus on all details and to aim to produce a top
quality fin each time. Each fin must be the best product ever
made.
How
long does it take to do one fin (approx.)?
It's actually a 3-steps process. First there's the production
of the blade, 2nd is the base or fin adapter and 3rd comes the
finish, which takes up a ¼ of the whole production time.
In total the process is spread over 3 days, which includes the
pressing in the form, the baking/curing of the fin.
Do
you also do or plan to do other than racing fins?
Next to racing fins, I also produce other foils, like centerboards
and rudders for Olympic Sailing classes and I'm also very busy
in doing composite CAD design at the moment. Windsurfing wise,
I'm planning to include slalom, speed, wave and freestyle fins,
which are still in the planning phase.
How many fins do you produce a week (approx.)? What's
the waiting time?
At the moment, I produce about 5-6 fins a week and have a backlog
of 4-5 months, unfortunately!
ON
TOP OF THE FW FIN WORLD - WHAT NEXT
Some of the world's best FW racers are using your fins. Can
you name a few?
Kevin Pritchard, Phil McGain, Micah Buzianis, Seth Besse, Sam
Parker and some more.
How did it happen that K. Pritchard and P. McGain are
using your fins?
I've been active on the internet, writing comments in different
forums and got in contact with Barry Spanier one day, who was
also a very keen sailor of 505 boats. After a while, we exchanged
emails and soon after I sent my first racing fin over to Maui,
which was unfortunately rejected by the big guns, stating that
it was not good enough. I got my second chance a year later
and immediately sent a new racing fin to Phil McGain, which
turned out to be a huge success.Kevin won the European champs
with that fin. Ironically, it was a racing fin rejected by one
of the best NZ racers at the time.
Later that year Kevin won the worlds in Sylt and Phil came 5th
and won the masters title.
How
do you fit production, R&D and marketing all into one day?
That's the hardest part - I don't. That's why I have a backlog
of several months. But I hope this will improve in the near
future with some projects coming along very shortly.
What's
the most difficult part of keeping up the spot as top fin maker?
To stay focused and constantly develop further - there's no
time to reflect on success.
Will C3 ever go "production"?
I'm currently working on the set-up of a custom workshop, to
build C3 fins to the same or even better standard than now.
The challenge with this is to speed up the production time without
cutting down on the quality. I can't tell you more at this stage
but the future is looking bright - hopefully regarding my workload
too!
For more details on C3 - CustomCarbonComposites product range
and prices, visit the official website at: www.C3.co.nz
We wish Boogie all the best for his future plans!
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Boogie's workshop
(courtesy of Darrel Wong)
Finishing
work
(courtesy of Darrel Wong)
Boogie
at the 2002 Racing Nationals
(copyright by Richard Lai)
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